2nd Week in Varese

Dear Loved Ones,

I cannot believe that I have only been in Varese for a week and a half. I feel like I have been here for a month. It is a blast whitewashing Varese. Sorella Walton and I feel like it is our city and the success can only increase from here. Our branch president is exhilerated to have Sorelle here and he believes that we will work miracles. I hope that we will not let him down.

We had a plan to teach and baptize through part member families and less-actives, zoning all of Varese on a map. Once we felt like we had somewhat of a foundation for the work, our branch president told us on Sunday, "Do not work with the less actives. Just go find new families". After that, we felt like we were shooting in the dark once again. But I know that the Lord will provide!

We have been knocking a lot of doors. We got a few phone numbers of some young families so we are excited to go and teach them. Sorry, I think my email is getting a bit too detail oriented. It is hard for me to get my head out of the logisitics of the work...okay, I will talk about things that you will care about :)

Fortunately, we have been receiving some referrals from the ward. So far, they have not been ready to receive the gospel, but we are excited to teach a member's friend this Sunday. I will tell you how it goes.

We have a beautiful Equadorian family that we are teaching. Marta is a hard working single mother of 19 year old Marcello and 18 year old Alexander. When we first began teaching them, Marta and Marcello did not seem very interested in committing themselves to anything. They are very busy with work and school. Alexander was bright eyed and very attentive to the lesson about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. As we have been visiting their house and bringing members along, Alexander has really responded. A few days ago we taught him by himself, and when we asked him how he felt about the Book of Mormon he responded, "As I was reading by myself, I did not want to stop. I like it. I feel comfort when I read." It is amazing how these youth in Italy are latching onto and understanding the power of the Book of Mormon. It is interesting how the elect can discern how different the Book of Mormon is, and understand its simplicity.

Even though Marta is still not very interested in "changing religions," she loves seeing the influence of the gospel in the lives of her two sons. She wants for them to have good friends and so she encourages them to meet with us and to read the Book of Mormon chapters we leave them. After many invitations to come to church, I thought to say, "We told a bunch of people in our congregation about you, and they are really excited to meet you." Marta grinned widely and exclaimed, "Let's go to church!" I think that the families in our ward will play a big part in the conversion of Marta. As she feels the Spirit and love from the members she will want to know how she can obtain the joy that they have. We have not been able to set a date with Marta, Marcello and Alexander yet, but Sorella Walton and I know they'll get baptized. They will be a wonderful addition to the branch in Varese.

One of the most beautiful miracles I have seen this week was reactivating this less active named Michela. The Lord had really prepared her to come back to Him. We called her, set up an appointment and immediately she opened up and said she wanted to change her life. She picked us up for church the next morning and loved every minute. That was amazing.

Enjoy the snow back in Utah and New Hampshire.

All my love,

Sorella Oakes